Below the Cherry Blossoms
by Grinning Fox
Summary: Spring is a time of new life and a time to reflect below the beauty of the sakura. To what thoughts will Captain Shunsui Kyöraku and his vice captain linger on when remembering the past and what affect will it have on each of them? - One Shot


Seeing how many hits I got on "Why I Wear Hat and Clogs" in just a single day (which I was pleased with), I decided to do another reflective sort of one-shot. I personally like Shunsui Kyöraku and find him an interesting man, so I figured why not look at this man who often wears a smile much like Kisuke Urahara? With that of course means having Nanao Ise which is never a bad thing. Right?

This really has no setting so...yeah...

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, they are the property of Tite Kubo, ect.**

**Well, enjoy!  
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The faintest breeze blew and with it a gentle rustle of the light branches of the sakura trees. The light breeze was enough to rustle the cherry blossoms and send petals drifting lazily to the ground below, giving a serene feel as they settled onto the grass and onto the man lying beneath one of the beautiful trees.

He was lying on a red rug he brought when drinking beneath the trees at this time of year as part of a sort of tradition. His sakkat was pulled over his face, hiding it from the sun that say high overhead. The rays caught through the trees and created a vibrant glow of pink within them. Spring was always such a lovely time of year.

The gaudily colored kimono he usually draped on his shoulders lay beneath him sprawled out. He had one leg propped up on the others knee in a true show of his laziness on such a day and in his right hand say a saucer-cup willed with his favorite beverage which seemed to taste even better when the cherry blossoms bloomed; saki.

"Captain." He didn't really hear the voice nor did the speaker know if the captain was actually awake beneath that straw hat. "Captain?" Nothing. "Captain Kyöraku!"

The man stiffened a cough and reached up slowly with his free hand, propping the hat up on its brim above his head with a finger. As always, the man known as Shunsui Kyöraku wore a grin that seemed to show his lack of concern for being caught in such a state. It also was a grin brought on by the sight of his lovely, young vice captain. "Mmm…Nanao-chan, you really shouldn't yell before a sakura tree. It's disrespectful to the elegance of the cherry blossoms."

She sighed softly and reached up to nudge her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Over a hundred years she had served under this man, a hundred years. She had been in Eighth Division when she was but a child which was the very reason her captain addressed her with the affectionate tag of chan. While it was fine when she was actually a little girl, she hated how he used it still and really wish he would drop it. "My apologies Captain, but you really can not be planning on just lounging today."

Flicking his hat away, the brown-haired man sat up slowly and brought the cup to his lips. It lingered there a second while his eyes gazed up to the sky at the pink canvas above. The sight was always such a pleasant one and eased his mind of what little thoughts he often let wonder freely. A silent pray in his head and the captain slowly sipped the strong brew down before raising the cup above his head and let out a satisfied grunt.

Nanao could only watch in silence as her captain reached for the jug and poured himself another cup. "Must you, Captain?"

He glanced over at her and the corners of his lips curled upward. "I suppose I mustn't, but it would be rude of me to not do so. I've done this every year, you know that Nanao-chan. Why not join me?"

She felt annoyance at such a suggestion. She never, _never_ drank with this man; in fact, she never drank to begin with. She really couldn't figure out why, but she loathed the act. Why had she thought so highly of this man back then? Was it the naïve ways of a child that thought this man so wise? She mentally shook herself and let out a sigh before replying, "It would be rude of me to break from _my_ tradition and suddenly join you in your drinking Captain Kyöraku."

He could not help but chuckle. That was his Nanao-chan alright; always strict with him and always keeping him in line as best she could. Funny how she reminded him so much of his last second-in-command…

The captain came to from his thoughts when a sink petal fell into his cup, sending the smallest of ripples out from it through the saki. "Well, well…a sigh of luck for me."

"If you're alluding to me possibly joining you for a drink, then no amount of luck will change that outcome."

Again he couldn't help but chuckle. Perhaps the coincidence between her and his former vice captain were not such a coincidence after all. His gaze drifted from his cup back up to the pink canvas above and with a sigh he began to find himself walking back down the road men his age usually travel; memory lane. "Well…I'm not _that_ old…" He muttered aloud before sipping the saki all in one pass.

Nanao arched a brow in question at the random statement from her captain, but one look at the slight glaze over his eyes told her his mind was far from this place now. He always got like this at this time of year…something about seeing the cherry blossoms bloom and fall always had an adverse affect on her captain; one that she really did not like.

Her eyes drifted from his face down to his right hand that was still holding the cup on his knee, seeming lost and unable to bother setting the cup aside or pouring himself another drink. _"Captain…you're thinking about her again, aren't you?"_ She asked herself in thought as she reached for the jug of saki and gently poured the captain his third cup. _"I know you are…this was the time of year it happened…"_

Unbeknown to Nanao, Shunsui was indeed thinking of a certain woman. A hundred years had passed since that fateful night when a handful of captains and lieutenants went missing. The report had stated they were killed in action investigating the strange disappearances of people around the outskirts of the Rukongai.

To this day it really was not made clear what had happened to them and if they truly were killed or still somewhere as some sort of hybrid of a Hollow and a Shinigami. The only thing that was made clear was that Kisuke Urahara, then captain of twelfth division and president of the department of development and research, was exiled from the Soul Society along with Tessai Tsukabishi, the then head of the Kidö Corps.

Along with them, Yoruichi Shihöin had disappeared, effectively abandoning her post as captain of the second division and commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukidö. Oh how much trouble that had caused. It nearly tore things apart until finally a new captain was found in Yoruichi's former bodyguard, Soi Fon. He really did not know much about the girl, but she was a woman that seemed to have a scorn plastered to her face at all times. _I wonder why. _He mused to himself in thought.

He hadn't been aware that Nanao had poured him a new cup, but his body seemed aware and automatically his arm moved to bring the cup to his lips, sipping slowly and only for a second before moving the cup away. "Nanao-chan…"

"Yes, Captain?"

"You don't have to watch me, if ya don't want to. I know this is likely boring for you to do…"

Her brows furrowed as a frown creased her lips. It was always the same with him each year around this time. It was almost unsettling to see a man that could even smile in the midst of a fight who seemed to never be fazed by anything suddenly have a sorrowed look in his eyes. That look was one of longing and remorse, but she never understood why the remorse was there. Was it guilt over what had happened…had happened…

She touched a hand to her cheek in surprise as she felt a tear run down it. Why…why was she shedding any tears at all? This wasn't like her to be acting emotional. She was a vice captain after all and a very professional one at that. "Nanao-chan?"

She realized the captain had been eyeing her from the corner of his eyes. Any hint of pain in those gray eyes was absent and they seemed to have a glimmer to them like silver. It was amazing how well he could change his mood, even if it likely was forced. "Yes?"

"Do you…do ya feel bitterness toward me?"

Nanao was taken back by the question. Why on earth would she feel any bitterness toward him? Sure he was lazy which often left her to do most if not all of the paperwork, and sure he drank far more then he should at hours when he shouldn't be drinking; but, he was her captain. He had been her captain since she first joined the Court Guard Squads so long ago as a little girl. She felt like she was parenting a child, but she never felt bitterness toward him.

As if he sensed her thoughts he smiled and shook his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry…"

"No…it's alright sir." The captain smiled and was starting to turn his gaze away when she leaned forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. "And no, I would never feel bitter toward you, Captain. I can't even understand why you'd ask that…"

He let out a deep sigh that seemed to have been lingering in his chest, almost growling in the back of his throat. "I only ask, because of…_her_."

Nanao drew her hand back slowly, no longer able to look up at her captain. If she did she would surely start to cry. Yes, he was thinking about the woman she replaced in rank. It wasn't really replacing so much as trying to be what she knew she never could be. How perversely their lives had both been changed after the disappearance of the former vice captain…of Lisa Yadömaru…

Lisa was such a beautiful woman and yet so strict in her duties. She had a lovely figure about her but was more then highly capable of fighting both hand-to-hand and with a blade. She truly was a gifted individual to know and be around; and Nanao was fortunate to be capable of both. She always looked up to the vice captain and admired her for all of her talent. What girl in the division didn't want to be like Vice Captain Yadömaru?

Nanao also knew a different side of the woman; she knew a gentle, motherly side. Always at the first of each month, Lisa would take time from whatever she was doing to come see the division's youngest member and read with her. Nanao smiled somberly as she thought back on how she would eagerly look forever to the end of one month so the first of the next would come around. She would even be waiting with whatever book she wanted to read with the beautifully intelligent vice captain on her bed in the barracks.

Lisa Yadömaru was her idol and even if she tried to not admit it out of embarrassment, she tried to model herself after the woman even to this day with the way she wore her glasses, how she carried herself, and how she spoke. _I'll never be half the woman you were, Miss Yadömaru-san…_

"I never could be bitter toward you over that, Captain…how could I be? I know you miss her…"

Shunsui turned his head to look at his vice captain who was holding her head in sorrow. _The poor thing…Ah Shunsui, why are you doing this? Now you're making her upset as well. What kind of a man makes his children cry just so they share in it with him?_ He shifted his cup to his left hand and reached over to tap Nanao on the knee, gaining her attention. A single smile from him was more then enough to get her to scoot by his side and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Sssh…my lil' Nanao-chan…shed no tears, beneath the sakura. Shed no tears and smile for those we love and miss…" Nanao let her lids drift shut as she listened to her captain's somewhat raspy voice. He really wasn't good at reciting poetry nor singing, but it was comforting to her all the same.

Shunsui smiled faintly as he stroked the woman's hair with his right hand while continuing his spoken song, "close your eyes, and let the petals dance inside your mind…remember well, the delicate sakura trees…" He sighed softly and set the cup to his lips, downing the rest of his saki before putting the cup aside. "She would be proud of you, my lil' Nanao-chan."

That brought a smile to her as she opened her eyes and noticed her captain shifting on the blanket to lie down. While often she cared to not let her captain indulge on his ego of being some stud with the women, Nanao could let him enjoy himself this one day. Gently she scooted up behind his head and lifted him by the shoulders. Much to his surprise, his vice captain let him rest his head in her lap. "You miss her as well…Captain?"

Shunsui closed his eyes and rested his hands over his stomach before cracking a grin, "always. It was like having an outlandish family…with the flirtatious games her and I played and how we each looked over you with affection and a desire to protect…"

"So then that means you'll stop your promiscuous ways?" She asked with an inflection of her normally strict tone. The captain laughed deeply from her lap and continued to grin which brought a smile to her once more.

"Now would I be your captain if that were the case?"

"I suppose not…"

"Besides…I'm sure she would be rather upset with me if I became strict…that was what she was good at anyways."

"Yes…strict in order to take care of our captain…" She felt her cheeks tint a shade of red at the inflection she put on the possession of the man in her lap.

A lid drifted open as he looked up at her with a sly grin, "_our_?"

"Don't get any ideas into your head."

He chuckled and let his lid drift back shut. "Never…but you are my Nanao-chan, right?"

As the blossoms of the sakura trees lazily drifted to the ground like vibrant snow, Nanao sat with her captain's head in her lap in silence, enjoying the calm of the moment as they both reflected about a woman that made them close in a unique way.

Like a family…

"Yes…I am your Nanao-chan."

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**Awww...such tender moments. Right?**

**Well I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a comment ooooor something.**

**-Grinning Fox  
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